In this week’s Sci-Fi Movies, we’ve got the latest updates on the record-breaking box office run of James Cameron’s Avatar, plus new details on a deleted scene to be included on the DVD / Blu-ray release. There’s also news this week on a new director for the Dune remake, as well as positive movement on production for Ghostbusters 3, ‘Captain America‘, The Thing and Cowboys & Aliens. All that and more, including the latest casting bites, images and videos.
GENRE MOVIE NEWS
Avatar Fastest Ever to $1B Worldwide + More Details on the DVD/Blu-ray
It’s safe to say that "Avatar" has lived up to the the enormous pre-release hype. Through just three weeks of release, the James Cameron-directed 3D sci-fi epic has grossed an incredible $1.06 billion worldwide ($360.2M domestic / $702.9M overseas). It only took 19 days for the film to hit $1B worldwide which is the fastest ever to that milestone. It’s currently in 4th place on the all-time worldwide list, sitting right above "The Dark Knight" ($1.00B), but below "Titanic" ($1.84B), ‘Return of the King’ ($1.12B) and ‘Dead Man’s Chest‘($1.07B). When all is said and done, James Cameron will have the two highest grossing films of all time. The only question now is whether or not "Avatar" will be #1 or #2 on that list. Speaking solely on the domestic box office front, there’s very little doubt that "Avatar" will cross $500M. And because of the incredible weekend — #1: $77.025M, #2: $75.62M (#1 all-time second weekend), #3: $68.49M (#1 all-time third weekend) — and weekday performances, it has a very, very good shot at surpassing "The Dark Knight" ($533.34M) and even "Titanic" ($600.79M). Here’s a graph I made tracking the performance of "Avatar" against ‘TDK’ [note how quickly the gap between the two has shrunk despite the two-fold stronger start for ‘TDK’]:
In other news, Cameron talked a bit about what he wanted to do in possible sequels, detailing his desire to visit other moons beyond just Pandora: "We have some story ideas for how to branch out into other moons of the Polyphemus and the Alpha Centauri A solar system." Watch the clip at LA Times’ Hero Complex Blog and check out the rest of their coverage here, here and here. On the DVD / Blu-ray front [slight SPOILERS], Cameron revealed that one of the deleted scenes will be a sex scene that had to be cut to achieve the film’s PG-13 rating:
"We had it in and we cut it out. So that will be something for the special edition DVD, if you want to see how they have sex."
Star Zoe Saldana ellobrated further on the scene:
"If you sync to your banshee and you’re syncing to a tree, why not sync into a person? I almost feel like you’ll have the most amazing orgasm, I guess. It was a very funny scene to shoot because there were so many technical things that sometimes you have to keep in mind that paying attention to all those might disrupt the fluidity of how a scene is supposed to take place.
And because Jim was shooting for a PG-13 rating, we couldn’t move in certain directions. The motion would look a little too past the PG-13 rating standards. So it was really funny for Sam and me. We had a lot of giggles there."
Behind the scenes with the cast and crew on their world tour [Life]
COMEDY: "Avatar: The Making of the Bootleg" [YouTube]
Watch another comedy skit, courtesy The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, at Comedy Central
Pierre Morel Will Direct Paramount’s Dune Remake
Last October, Peter Berg dropped out of Paramount’s remake of the sci-fi classic "Dune", but the project is now back on track with a new director. According to Entertainment Weekly, the studio has tapped Pierre Morel ("Taken") to direct the project. EW adds that Paramount is also looking into hiring a new writer for the project so as to incorporate Morel’s vision of the film, which Paramount now views as a "high priority". The original draft was written by Josh Zetumer ("Quantum of Solace").
Spider-Man 4 Script Troubles Are Real? Sony "Unlikely" to Make Scheduled May 5, 2011 Release Date
Turns out that "planned" Holiday hiatus — as reported on in our last Sci-Fi Movies column — is a bigger problem than Sony has led on. Deadline’s Nikki Finke has confirmed IESB’s scoop about troubles surroundingn the "Spider-Man 4" script and is reporting that as of today Sony has no official start date for the Sam Raimi-directed project. That means the film is "unlikely" to make its May 11, 2010 release date. Here’s a Dec. 11th e-mail that was sent out to the SFX crew [emphasis mine]:
Hey there–
We were just notified that our schedule is pushing. We will NOT be starting as planned. I’m terribly sorry for this news, and I hope this email reaches you in time to find other options. We do not know how long we are pushing, and we will not know until mid-January. By mid-January, we will be told how long the push is, whether it be 2 weeks, 2 months, or something else. The studio has every intention of making the movie, but we no longer have a confirmed start date.
Again, I’m terribly sorry, but Sam Raimi has story issues [that] need to be resolved before we are ready to shoot.
Feel free to call me if you have any questions.
VFX Team
Finke adds that Raimi has been very vocal inside Sony that he "hated" the script (which has gone through four different writers: James Vanderbilt, David Lindsay-Abaire and Gary Ross) and that they’re waiting on yet another script by screenwriter Alvin Sargent ("Spider-Man 2" and "Spider-Man 3"):
"It is unlikely that May 11, 2011, date will be made," a Sony insider just told me today. "It depends on how quickly the script can get in." However, agents have told clients in the movie to already expect the film to be pushed back.
My sources say Sony still intends to release that summer, even if the new date is July 2011.
"Spider-Man 4" was originally scheduled to begin production this February, but that was pushed to March and then to late March/early April and now to the current situation; no date. Although there haven’t been any new developments on the 3D front, it’s possible Sony/Columbia may use the delay to decide on shooting the film in 3D.
Ghostbusters 3 Shooting This Summer For 2011 Release
Harold Ramis told Heeb that "Ghostbusters 3" is on track to begin filming next summer and be released in 2011 [via Shock Till You Drop]:
"Something’s going to happen. Dan [Aykroyd] did write a spec GB3 screenplay a few years ago, but no one was motivated to pursue it. Now, 25 years after the original, there seems to be some willingness to proceed and apparently a substantial public appetite for a sequel. We’ll introduce some new young Ghostbusters, and all the old guys will be in it, too. Think Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future…GB3 is progressing with plans to shoot next summer and release in 2011."
The Thing Prequel Begins Filming This March, Captain America in June and Cowboys & Aliens (Possibly in 3D) This July
In addition to that update on "Ghostbusters 3", several other sci-fi/genre properties are being lined up to enter production. First up, Production Weekly is reporting that Universal Pictures’ prequel to John Carpenter’s "The Thing" will begin filming this March. The film will be directed by Matthijs van Heijningen, Jr. from a script by Eric Heisserer ("A Nightmare on Elm Street"). The original script was written by Ronald D. Moore ("Battletar Galactica"). Meanwhile, director Joe Johnston has revealed that he begins production on "The First Avenger: Captain America" this June. And finally, Kim Masters of The Daily Beast is reporting that Jon Favreau’s upcoming "Cowboys & Aliens" (screenplay by Alex Kurtzman and Robeto Orci) will begin filming this July and DreamWorks is looking into possibly shooting the project in 3D.
Marvel’s Joe Quesada Talks Iron Man 2 and Thor
In a retrospective posted on Marvel.com, Marvel Entertainment President Kevin Feige shared his reaction to a recent costume screentest for Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming "Thor":
“To be honest the thing that I’m most excited about right now though, is the screen test we just finished for “Thor.” We’ve done some costume tests and watching the Asgardians walk onto the sound stage takes me back to that first time I saw the X-Men on the set all together in Toronto. Only it was unlike anything we’ve ever put on film before! It’s great to be starting the next decade in such an exciting way just as we did last decade. We’re really redefining the comic book genre and what a Marvel movie can be. It’s going to be great.”
Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada also offered praise of the upcoming project: "It’s going to be pretty epic, and regardless of what you think it’s going to be, it’s going to surprise people," he added. "It’s an interesting piece for a superhero movie. It’s going to change the conventions of the superhero movie." "Thor", starring Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Natalie Portman (Jane Foster) hits theaters on May 20, 2011.
NEW IMAGES
Alice in Wonderland
Poster art [Apple]
Image and poster of the Caterpillar [Facebook]
Battle: Los Angeles
Set images [manwithscaryspouse & Jonathan Hoffon via io9 & /Film]
The Crazies
Poster [/Film]
Daybreakers
Promotional stills [SCI FI Wire]
Poster [/Film]
Despicable Me
Poster [Trailer Addict]
The Last Airbender
Empire Magazine scans from their set visit [more at Last Airbender Fans Online]
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Promotional stills [Fantasy.fr via ComingSoon.net]
Shutter Island
Final poster [CHUD]
Toy Story 3
Color script art [more at The Pixar Blog, Upcoming Pixar & Pixar Talk]
CASTING BITES
- Sam Worthington is not in the running for the role of Flash Gordon: "there is no validity to the rumours…sometimes, as you know, studios tend to just scat ideas and they leak out – but its the first i have heard about it…" [AICN]
- Jude Law says that he is not attached to Kenneth Branagh’s "Thor" and has never been approached to play a role in the film. [MTV]
- Contrary to what he has hinted at in the past, Jeremy Renner says he won’t be playing Hawkeye: "That was just one of those things that got blown way out of proportion. It was an idea…So there’s truth that we talked about it, but there’s no truth to me doing it." [Movieline]
- Meanwhile, Bryce Dallas Howard has confirmed reports that she’ll be playing a role in Clint Eastwood’s upcoming supernatural thriller "Hereafter": "I’m really going to be totally vague, because I don’t want to speak out of turn. I just got hired." [SCI FI Wire]
- Head on over to The Nolder Blog for instructions on how to apply for a role as an extra in "The Hobbit". [via MTV]
NEW VIDEOS
Aliens vs. Predator
Story trailer [YouTube via USA Today]
The Book of Eli
Featurette: "Book of Stunts" [SCI FI Wire]
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Clip from the bonus features of the DVD / Blu-ray (out today) [ComingSoon.net]
Daybreakers
Clip: "Accident" [CinemaBlend]
Watch two more clips here
Despicable Me
Teaser trailer #3 [Trailer Addict]
District 13: Ultimatum
Trailer [SCI FI Wire]
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Interview with director Terry Gilliam [SCI FI Wire]
Inception
Teaser trailer #2 [Apple embed via Trailer Addict]
Two trailers reordered [via /Film]
How to Train Your Dragon
Trailer #2 [Trailer Addict]
Lobo
Director Guy Ritchie says it’s not so clear cut he’ll be directing the film [MTV]
Moon
Behind the scenes clip: "Creating the Visual Effects" [SCI FI Wire]
Watch another clip here
Toy Story / Toy Story 3
Blu-ray trailer [via Pixar Talk]
Toy Story 3
Sneak peek, featuring our first look at Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) [YouTube]
MOVIE BITES
- Previously on TrekMovie: In addition to Star Trek; Avatar, District 9, Inglourious Basterds and Up were nominated for a Producer Guild Award.
- Universal Pictures has launched a website for Joe Johnston’s upcoming remake of "The Wolfman". [thewolfmanmovie.com]
- Mark Pellington has been tapped to direct "The Orphanage", New Line’s remake of the Spanish-language film "El Orfanato" from director Guillermo del Toro. [Variety]
- Peter Jackson is reportedly working on an adaptation of the "Mortal Engines" novels. [Dominion Post via SCI FI Wire]
- As expected, Marvel shareholders have approved the sale of the company to Disney. [Market Watch]
- There’s a report that Warner Brothers has canceled Jerry O’Flaherty’s CG-animated "Thundercats". The film was rumored to be an origin story based on the animated pilot. [Collider]
- Director Martin Campbell has filled out his crew for the upcoming DC Comics adaptation "Green Lantern". Dion Beebe, who won an Oscar for Rob Marshall’s "Memmoirs of a Geisha", has been brought on board as cinematographer, along with production designer Grant Major and costume designer Ngila Dickson, who both worked on Peter Jackson’s "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Also joining the crew as art director will be François Audouy ("Avatar", "Watchmen"). [Superhero Hype]
- Summit Entertainment has acquired Ben Magid’s spec script "Invasion". The film will be produced and directed by Eli Roth. [Shock Till You Drop]
- Mark Strong, who plays Matai Shang in Pixar’s "John Carter of Mars", says "Avatar" will have a big influence on director Andrew Stanton’s adapation of the property. [Collider]
- Quentin Tarantino says that he has completed work on 40 pages of his "Inglourious Basterds" prequel. [MTV]
- Michael Cera says he isn’t signed on for a sequel to Edgar Wright’s "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World", and he hasn’t heard of any sequel talk. [Collider]
- Contrary to online reports, Summit Entertainment says that they haven’t held test screenings for "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse": "There is absolutely no merit to this claim…We noticed it over the holiday on multiple message boards and sites, and it appears that some of this was spam." [MTV]
- "Paranormal Activity" director Oren Peli left a note thanking fans for the support he received for his film. Read it at MTV Movies Blog.
- A deal is in the works for Studio Canal to release "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" in 3D. [The Wrap]
- John Rodgers is writing the comic book adaptation "the forgotten". [Mania via /Film]
- Sony Pictures Classics is citing piracy concerns as their main reason for not pushing out screeners during awards season for Duncan Jones’ well-received sci-fi film "Moon": "The DVD and Blu-ray come out on Jan. 12 – next Tuesday – and it was felt that to preserve the integrity of the film, we didn’t want to send screeners…We’re concerned about piracy. The thing about Moon is that its particular genre is very predisposed toward being uploaded onto the Web. We really just wanted to protect that aspect of it. It’s a simple as that." [Collider]
- Paramount will be purchasing Super Bowl spots for "Iron Man 2, "Shutter Island" and "The Last Airbender". The three ads will air during the first and second quarter of Super Bowl XLIV (February 7, 2010 on CBS). [Advertising Age via ComingSoon.net]
Follow Russ on his blog: Your Entertainment Now and on Twitter: Twitter.com/YourEntNow.
I bet whoever owns Thundercats will be trying to ride the avatar success train.
Has anyone seen Avatar? I don’t have any friends that have seen it.
I have not really heard any local buzz here in jersey. But I am off tomorrow so I am going to catch a 3D cheap show. The preview just did not grab me.
But Iam hoping to see something cool tomorrow., So if any one really liked it pleas let me know
Interesting
I thoroughly enjoyed Avatar, and thought it was wonderful.. It deserves all the glory it’s getting, if you ask me. Was it a really touching movie, a la “The Notebook” or “My Sister’s Keeper”? No, but I admit I did get misty-eyed about 3/4 of the way through. ;3
But do I want a sequel..? No. I don’t think a sequel would be good for this movie. That’s like trying to make a sequel to “Titanic”, or to “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”, or something like that. I just don’t see how it could make for a good movie. I guess I’m just hoping that the film industry hasn’t completely gone to making movies solely for making money — Some of us still appreciate the art of filmmaking. Let’s keep it that way.
I have not seen avitar yet and i plan on going with my whole family who has not seen it yet either. Hopefully it will live up to the hype for me,
GOST BUSTERS 3 I CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How about a graph for “Dark Knight” v. “Avatar” grosses, adjusted for 3D surcharges?
You will love Avatar-everyone from my 91 yr old father to my sis n mom all loved it when i took them–especially the 1st half and yes see it in 3d—
Dune remade yet again sheesh? I loved the books what epic intelligent scifi–herbert created a real original universe—i just finished watching lynchs dune again-it holds up-entire cast incredible-from richard jordan to patrick stewart–its main flaw cramming too much story into 1 movie–but i prefer it to the tv movies remakes which just didnt seem big epic enuf to me—why make dune again–they should start with the sequel–oh yeh biggest sin the movie did was make it rain on dune at the end-anybody who reads herberts original trilogy knows that is ecologically suicide, destroying their planet,the worms n the spice-oh well..
I hope Lady Gaga appears in Ghostbusters 3 and has a cameo in Star Trek 12. Midway through Star Trek 12, I’d like to see Kirk, Spock and McCoy go undercover to a concert of hers on a distant planet like with Diva Plavalaguna in The Fifth Element (1997). Her character (the most famous and successful singer in the Alpha Quadrant) could have dark connections to the Orion Syndicate who should be the villains of the sequel as they are essentially the Mafia of the Star Trek universe, involved in piracy, smuggling, and extortion. An explosively intense, thunderous phaser fight could erupt interrupting the show when she sings Bad Romance, Paparazzi, Poker Face or Just Dance between Kirk, Spock and McCoy and some Orion Syndicate henchmen.
Regarding this Ghostbusters 3 news, I guess this means that we should expect a hip, young, all-star cast including some of the below names:
Penn Badgley, Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, Adam Brody, Sophia Bush, Chace Crawford, Miley Cyrus, Thomas Dekker, Kat Dennings, Hilary Duff, Zac Efron, Emile Hirsch, Shia LaBeouf, James Lafferty, Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Taylor Momsen, Chad Michael Murray, Ellen Page, Emma Roberts, Jessica Szohr, Ed Westwick, Evan Rachel Wood, Anton Yelchin.
Recent quote from Harold Ramis: ‘We’ll introduce some new young Ghostbusters’.
Past quote from Dan Aykroyd: “There will be a whole new generation that has to be trained, and that whole new generation will be led by an individual who you’ll all love when you meet him… They’ll be lots of cadets, boys and girls…”
Possible future quote from Bill Murray: “Oh, yeah. Dan, Harold, Ernie and I worked with all the kids. Shia is fantastic, Penn is really, really good. I think they made really wise choices in the cast. It was so much fun. We spent a lot of time playing guitar, hanging around singing together, playing chess. Basically just hassling each other.”
They should call it – ‘Ghostbusters 3: The Next Generation’. I hope Shia LaBeouf will be the new lead. He would make a good Ghostbuster. He can definitely play the straight faced smart-ass that Bill Murray was. It would be nice to see Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis and Hudson play mentors to the kids like Bruce Greenwood did in Star Trek as Christopher Pike to James Kirk.
Zeddmore: “Your father was captain of a Ghostbusters team for twelve hours.”
Spengler: “He saved 800,000 lives, including your mothers and yours.”
Stantz: “I dare you to do better.”
Venkman: “Enlist in Ghostbusters Academy.”
But I worry after Ghostbusters 3 comes out and the old cast have taken their final bow and said goodbye, they’ll no doubt be talking about Ghostbusters 4 in which we’ll get yet another tear-filled, overwrought, sentiment laden goodbye.
Shia LaBeouf’s character: You’re a scientist?
Venkman: Part-time.
7-
Dune is well known inside some circles. But it will continue to have a hard time breaking into the mainstream. Part of the problem is Herbert’s prose – which is sometimes almost Shakespearean in tone – just doesn’t translate well as a script for an action movie. Which is, unfortunately, what they usually try to present it as. This is particularly true of the long, drawn out exposition sequences, which will fly over the head of audiences that aren’t well versed in religion and philosophy. The references are too obscure. The language too subtle. Herbert also has characters giving long monologues during battle, The knife fight at the end, for example, always feels rather preposterous because they had to stop every couple seconds to deliver lines. This is true of both the film and TV versions. I actually think Dune might work better as a stage production than a summer blockbuster with a huge budget.
#8: Only if she gets shot 10 seconds into the first song.
*shudder*
I look forward to the new Ghostbusters film but I hope that the Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts all get a great share of the script.
Ghostbusters is one of my all time favourite movies and I want to see the characters/actors I loved from the two movies. That is why I loved the game so much.
Does anyone else think Hollywood is lazy with all these remakes?
I love Nightmare on Elm Street but I feel the new remake is going to be a bad move.
I wish they would leave Dune alone. I’m a big fan of the book and of the SyFy version of the movie. C’mon Hollywood, be creative and move on!
When I read about Jeremy Renner not playing Hawkeye, I must admit I was a little shocked…not at the story, but because I mistook it for meaning they were remaking M*A*S*H. Oops :P
#14: “Does anyone else think Hollywood is lazy with all these remakes?”
I really think it has a lot more to do with timidity than laziness. The people who sign the checks want their ROI, and that means discouraging creativity, discouraging boldness, discouraging real exploration of theme, discouraging creative bravery … and encouraging (or demanding) timid, cut-and-paste formula work attached to recognizable, well-regarded trademarks (preferably performed by recognizable, well-regarded star actors).
The tragedy is the sheer amount of hard work and talent that this hackwork still requires … so I don’t think it’s really fair to call the people involved lazy. They work their ass off to cut and paste the same old crap with real professional shine.
no the film makers do their best but the fact that the studios are greenlighting them is sad. To me there is no origanlity or creativity in movies these days, well not in the mainstream films.
Guess this is why I hate the mainstream these days.
INCREDIBLE NEWS JUST IN. from The Melbourne Free Sunday Edition.
– In a surprise move director JJ Abrams along with Writers Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci have decided to dump the new crew of the enterprise and return to the Next Generation Era.
The new movie due out in April 2010 will be titled Star Trek 12 The Search For B-3
The film will star those lovable bananas B-1 and B-2 as themselves and actor Brent Spiner will reprise his career defining role as B-4 as they search for their long lost brother en rout to the planet of the pre schoolers.
Along the way they encounter what looks like some sort of “space ship” only to discover that inside are four cryogenically frozen men from earths past known as The Wiggles.
After eating them they continue their epic journey, overcoming obstacles and having their friendship tested through the fires of trial and tribulation before an emotional reunion with B-3.
DON’T MISS THIS APRIL – STAR TREK 12 THE SEARCH FOR B-3
Have any of you played any of the Fallout games? Book of Eli looks almost exactly like “Fallout: the Movie”, only played deadly serious,and with the retro-future-y goodness taken out.
“Alice”‘s Cheshire Cat makes me want to crawl behind a sofa and hide. Man, I’m hyped for that movie! :D
Notice how all the 1 billion dollar movies were released in the last 13 years?
Gee, wonder if inflation contributed to that? Not that they were bad movie, at least the ones I saw. I still think we should count tickets sold, not money earned. Then we could more equally compare modern movies with older movies.
Ah, at last some hot human on alien action. Trek always hinted at it but never gave us the hot interspecial (is that a word?) sex scene we always wanted. Oh and by “we” I mean “I”.
In my opinion, one or two of the following recognisable actors with comedic experience will probably star in GB 3 in a small role or cameo to support the kids in their first outing as the new leads of the Ghostbusters film series/franchise:
Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Ricky Gervais, Simon Pegg, Eddie Izzard, Rowan Atkinson, Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Rob Schneider, Chris Rock, Jeremy Piven, Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, William Shatner, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, Tim Allen, Chevy Chase, John Goodman, Billy Connolly, Danny DeVito, Robin Williams, George Lopez, John Cleese, Steve Coogan.
Please, no Shia LaBeouf, Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick (and that ridiculous god-awful American accent), Zac Efron , Chad Michael Murray, or Adam Brody! I’d prefer to have serious actors such as Christian Bale, Colin Farrell, Ryan Gosling and Josh Lucas as the new Ghostbusters rather than the entire casts of One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, The O.C., 90210, Glee, Smallville, The Hills, The City, Laguna Beach, Melrose Place as well as these heartthrobs and comedians.
Avatar lived up to the hype, for the most part. I felt like I had seen some of this movie before (“Titanic”, “Aliens”, “Battlestar Galactica”) but that didn’t lessen its impact… just the opposite: I thought maybe I was seeing an event that occured in another place and time in one of Cameron’s other cinematic worlds.
Unfortunately (unless you ask my wallet) I didn’t get to see it in 3D – which I heard was the thing to do – but I didn’t have that option at the time I saw it.
But I can say that even though I may get the chance to see it in 3D I’m not going to cry if I don’t because I just saw the movie that ratchets everything up a notch and I can’t wait to see how any future projects try to match or out-do it. Wow!
Making of the Bootleg… Too funny!
Another version of DUNE? Seriously? I mean, it’s a thinky book. It’s a great, thinky book, but it’s not really a great idea for a movie…
OK. I know. CGI and $700M can do anything. Big worms. Got it. So now, I can have a third version to file next to the excellent book, the duller than death Patrick Stewart/Sting version, and the somehow even duller William Hurt version.
Daybreakers looks cool.
Unimpressed with what I’ve seen so far for “Despicable Me”, but “Daybreakers” is looking interesting.
@27 Yes, we needed more vampire movies. Conan O’Brien’s show last night had a hilarious making-of-this-point “trailer”.
Maybe if they broke Dune up into a duology or trilogy, there is just too much in the novel to cover in one movie. Perhaps break it after the Harkonnens take over Arrakis, and the second movie ending with Paul becoming Emperor?
Coming out of Avatar 3D Imax, i thought that Dragonriders of Pern can now be done. what do you think???
“Avatar” is great because of what it is. The plot is pure meat & ‘taters and is geared towards 6-year olds (the villain makes Darth Vader look like PeeWee Herman) or lobotomized hippies. It is so visually stunning that it totally works.
I’m still not sure about the AVP game :/
I didn’t see any mention of it here so forgive me if I just overlooked it. But any form of live action Starblazers is worth a mention. It is a HUGE part of many of us 35-50 year old sci-fi fans that raced home from school to watch it.
Behold Starblazers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBu1cZm4Gqg
seems like such a long wait for all *my* shows to come back (or even start!) … so exciting :)
I’d also like to point out how much I hate Pacific Time…
I WANT TO PLAY STARTREK ONLINE TOO!! BOO HOO! :)
I’ll be there on 2/2/10 at the latest!
…same week as LOST!’s long, long awaited return.. and my birthday (6th).. what a week for me :)
(I think I mentioned it before)
Now we’re going to see a lot of Avatar knockoffs with wooden, Beowulf caliber effects.
Ho-hum.
Dune again? I was fine with the TV movies, which were almost classics.
35:
“Now we’re going to see a lot of Avatar knockoffs with wooden, Beowulf caliber effects.”
You are so right, and it’s extremely depressing.
Paramount is most likely pushing hard on DUNE now because of the AVATAR success. I would not be surprised if it’s shot in 3D. DUNE was the first AVATAR after all. And before some of you jump me for comparing them, I’m referring to the overall sense and message; alien world, indigenous population displaced, etc. AVATAR is brilliant by the way so def go and see it! It’s a very different take than DUNE, but no less brilliant in its vision. As to naysaying a sequel, Christine, Cameron already has the next two films in his head and has always planned this as a franchise. That part of how he sold it to FOX, so he made the first one with more in mind. Therefore, he has more story to tell, perhaps even different in tone than this one. I’ve always said that if sequels are made because there’s more to say, more story to tell, then go for it (and they’re usually the best sequels). If sequels are made simply to mine for more money (think NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2), then they’re usually a bit steamy pile of crap!
Am I the only one who thinks Avatar was nothing more than a rehash of Dances With Wolves….IN SPACE……with a lot of shiny new CG in 3D? It wasn’t a bad movie, but “ground breaking” or a “game changer” is was not. I found it very formulaic and incredibly predictable. Please, please please–no sequel (or prequel)!
#8. Dan Paine – that name….
…is not to be confused with me, Thank You, as I really can’t stand Lady Gaga, or whatever she’s called.
Just a clarification.
#8
I love sarcasm. Well done!
Dune is a near-impossible book to film. Really, there are so many more adaptable works out there. I don’t think it’s possible to do Frank Herbert’s work justice on the screen.
And really, the HLP halfwits who are ripping Dune off with increasingly dreadful prequels, sequels and interquels are involved, meaning there will be endless misconceptions and errors in the films. Dune is best left as a superb piece of 20th Century literature!!
Ghostbusters 3? Could be great: depends on whether they avoid the temptation to drag us into ‘CGI Hell!!’
@ 30 – Wow, great idea! I know I would pay to see that…
Walking out of Avatar (in 3D) the one thought I kept coming back to was, “Now it’s possible to do anything in a movie…”
So what do I want to see?
Ender’s Game
Cat’s Cradle
Blood Music
Lord of Light
Rendezvous with Rama
The Mote in God’s Eye
The Diamond Age…
Eliza Dushku would make a great Ghostbuster. Chuck her in a pair of knee-highs and I don’t care how good her acting is.
Since this is a Star Trek site … “Avatar” has the same basic plot as “The Paradise Syndrome,” with a crippled guy substituting for an amnesiac Kirk, a blue kitty substituting for Miramanee, another blue kitty substituting for the jealous Salish, and an evil planet-destroying military-industrial conglomerate substituting for a planet-destroying asteroid. It does have a slightly less poignant ending though.
It’s also a thinly disguised swipe at the Iraq War. My biggest gripe with that analogy is that the main villain is a military guy, rather than a surrogate (or avatar), for the Bush Administration, as it should have been. If I were in the U.S. military, this movie would really cheese me off.
It is pretty to look at and very entertaining though.
Scott B. out.
Still have not seen AVATAR, and I will not after seeing this clip…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dwUl9u5QW4
Especially after what James says at 1:48 into the video.
He’s playing you all for fools.
Just my 2 cents here….
Avatar was visually fantastic. Wonderful to look at. Technically brilliant.
But as a movie….
It was a tired cliche ridden we’ve-seen-it-all-before piece of horse crap.
#42
You forgot Ringworld…
New Dune might be interesting. Won’t be seeing the next Ghostbusters.
#46
NEWS FLASH:
Many of the creative, talented people whose creations/products that you more than likely patronize, buy, or enjoy are a**holes. Roddenberry was distinctly un-nice to many of the cast and crew of Trek. It has been no secret that Cameron is a difficult human being to have to be around. It doesn’t detract from an artist’s creation in my opinion. He didn’t owe that autograph seeker an autograph. The implication in the video was that since the fan spent his money on Avatar (I’m guessing) James had to give him a signature. A different perspective would be that Cameron made Avatar as a product and someone purchased a viewing of their own free will. I don’t think that the ownership of the auto company that built the car I bought owes me an autograph.
Was Cameron a complete d***head tool? Yes. Did the fan deserve to be smacked down verbally like that? No. Is the world a hard and difficult place in which to live? Yup. Better wear a helmet.
If you decided to boycott every product or movie or whatever because the maker/designer/creator was a jerk you would find yourself owning or enjoying very few things in life and having nothing to spend your money on.
8. Dan Paine – January 6, 2010
With her futuristic music and style, she would fit right in. Maybe if she is shot in the phaser fight, the assassin turns out to be her real-life arch-nemesis, Katy Perry! By the way, maybe, Taylor Swift should have a cameo as well since she publicly revealed at the Country Music Awards that she dreamed of being a part of the new Star Trek film. J.J., make it so!